Association of maternal smoking with increased infant oxidative stress at 3 months of age.

Background: Cigarette smoke is a major source of free radicals and oxidative stress. With a significant proportion of women still smoking during pregnancy, this common and avoidable exposure has the potential to influence infant oxidative status, which is implicated in the increased propensity for airway inflammation and asthma. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of maternal smoking on markers of infant oxidative stress.

Impact of foods enriched with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on erythrocyte n-3 levels and cardiovascular risk factors.

Consumption of fish or fish oils rich in the n-3 long chain PUFA EPA and DHA may improve multiple risk factors for CVD. The objective of this study was to determine whether regular consumption of foods enriched with n-3 long-chain PUFA can improve n-3 long-chain PUFA status (erythrocytes) and cardiovascular health. Overweight volunteers with high levels of triacylglycerols (TG; >1.

Long-term follow-up of participants in a health promotion program for treated hypertensives (ADAPT).

Background And Aims: Improvements in a lifestyle modification program for hypertensives were maintained 1 year later. Longer follow-up in such studies is limited; we therefore re-assessed participants after an additional 2 years in which there was no contact with program facilitators.

Methods And Results: Participants randomised to usual care (N=118) or a 4-month lifestyle program (N=123) were previously assessed after 4 months and 1 year.

Folic acid prevents and partially reverses glucocorticoid-induced hypertension in the rat.

Background: To investigate the effect of folic acid on the increased pressure in rats treated with either adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or dexamethasone (Dex), and to further investigate the role of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)) in any effect of folic acid by comparing the effect of BH(4) with that of folic acid in Dex hypertension.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with saline, subcutaneous ACTH (0.2 mg/kg/d) or Dex (10 microg/rat/d).

A lifestyle program for treated hypertensives improved health-related behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors, a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess effects of a cognitively based program on health-related behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight drug-treated hypertensives.

Study Design And Setting: In a clinical trials center, volunteers, recruited by advertisement, were randomized to usual care (N=118) or to a 4-month program (N=123) incorporating weight loss; a low-sodium diet, high in fruit, vegetables, and fish; and increased physical activity. Diet, physical activity, weight, blood lipids, glucose, and insulin were measured at 4 and 16 months.

Lupin-enriched bread increases satiety and reduces energy intake acutely.

Background: Protein and fiber may be important determinants of satiety. Lupin kernel flour is a novel food ingredient that is rich in protein and fiber.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the effects of lupin kernel flour-enriched bread (LB) on satiety and energy intake in humans.

Omega-3 fatty acids and hypertension in humans.

1. Population studies and clinical trials provide compelling evidence that omega-3 (omega3) fatty acids have cardioprotective effects. The strongest evidence is from DART and GISSI-P, two secondary prevention trials in patients with previous myocardial infarctions.

n -- 3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy in women with allergic disease: effects on blood pressure, and maternal and fetal lipids.

n--3 Fatty acids derived from fish oil reduce plasma triacylglycerols (triglycerides) and increase HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol); however, the effect of n--3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy, a hyperlipidaemic state, remains unknown. We took the opportunity to investigate maternal lipid levels and blood pressure during and after pregnancy, and fetal lipid levels at birth, in a study that aimed primarily to examine the effect of fish oil supplementation during pregnancy on immune function in infants born to women with allergic disease. Eighty-three pregnant women who had allergic disease, but were otherwise healthy, completed the study.

Antioxidants protect from atherosclerosis by a heme oxygenase-1 pathway that is independent of free radical scavenging.

Oxidative stress is implicated in atherogenesis, yet most clinical trials with antioxidants, particularly vitamin E, have failed to protect against atherosclerotic diseases. A striking exception is probucol, which retards atherosclerosis in carotid arteries and restenosis of coronary arteries after angioplasty. Because probucol has in vitro cellular-protective effects independent of inhibiting lipid oxidation, we investigated the mode of action of probucol in vivo.

The independent effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on cardiovascular risk factors in humans.

Purpose Of Review: This review details the independent effects of purified eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on cardiovascular risk factors in humans. We report data from the recent literature and our own controlled clinical trials which compared the independent effects of these fatty acids in individuals at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, namely overweight hyperlipidaemic men and treated-hypertensive, type 2 diabetic men and women. We discuss the biological effects of these fatty acids and the potential mechanisms through which they may affect cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The use of novel foods enriched with long-chain n-3 fatty acids to increase dietary intake: a comparison of methodologies assessing nutrient intake.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of consuming a variety of foods enriched in long-chain n-3 fatty acids in low fish eaters.

Design: Evaluation of reported dietary intakes in a 6-month, double-blind, randomized, controlled parallel design trial.

Subjects/setting: Eighty-five men and women with overweight and mildly elevated triglyceride levels who have a low habitual intake of fish.

Prevention of programmed hyperleptinemia and hypertension by postnatal dietary omega-3 fatty acids.

Fetal programming is now recognized as a key determinant of the adult phenotype, with major implications for adult-onset diseases including hypertension. Two mediators of fetal programming are maternal nutrition and fetal glucocorticoid exposure. Recent studies show that postnatal dietary manipulations can exacerbate programming effects, but whether programming effects can be attenuated by postnatal dietary manipulations, and thus provide a possible therapeutic strategy, is unknown.

Apocynin but not allopurinol prevents and reverses adrenocorticotropic hormone-induced hypertension in the rat.

Background: Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-induced hypertension in the rat is accompanied by increased oxidative stress. This study examines the enzymatic source of reactive oxygen species in ACTH-hypertension.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 10 groups of 10-20 rats per group.

Processes involved in the site-specific effect of probucol on atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E gene knockout mice.

Objective: To elucidate processes by which the antioxidant probucol increases lesion size at the aortic sinus and decreases atherosclerosis at more distal sites in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE(-/-)) mice.

Methods And Results: Male apoE(-/-) mice were fed high-fat chow with 1% (w/w) probucol or without (controls) for 6 months, before aortic sinus, arch, and descending aorta were analyzed separately for lesion size and composition. Compared with control, probucol significantly increased lesion size by 33% at the sinus, but it inhibited atherosclerosis at the descending aorta by 94%.

Effects of a lifestyle programme on ambulatory blood pressure and drug dosage in treated hypertensive patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess effects of multifactorial lifestyle modification on antihypertensive drug needs in treated hypertensive individuals.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Research studies unit.

Kidney expression of glutathione peroxidase-1 is not protective against streptozotocin-induced diabetic nephropathy.

In many diseases, including progressive renal disorders, tissue injury and pathological intracellular signaling events are dependent on oxidative stress. Glutathione peroxidase-1 (Gpx1) is an antioxidant enzyme that is highly expressed in the kidney and removes peroxides and peroxynitrite that can cause renal damage. Therefore, we examined whether this abundant renal antioxidant enzyme limits renal damage during the development of type 1 diabetic nephropathy.

Induced sputum 8-isoprostane concentrations in inflammatory airway diseases.

Induced sputum 8-iso-prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha)) concentrations may be a useful marker of oxidative stress in airways disease. This study examines oxidative stress (measured by 8-iso-PGF(2alpha)) in airway disease according to disease type (asthma and bronchiectasis), disease activity (stable and acute asthma), and disease pattern (intermittent, mild, moderate, and severe persistent asthma). We compared subjects with stable asthma (n = 71) and bronchiectasis (n = 23) with healthy control subjects (n = 29).

Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammation.

Dietary omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids have a variety of anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects that may be of relevance to atherosclerosis and its clinical manifestations of myocardial infarction, sudden death, and stroke. The n-3 fatty acids that appear to be most potent in this respect are the long-chain polyunsaturates derived from marine oils, namely eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and this review is restricted to these substances. A variety of biologic effects of EPA and DHA have been demonstrated from feeding studies with fish or fish oil supplements in humans and animals.

Effect of fish and fish oil-derived omega-3 fatty acids on lipid oxidation.

There is evidence that omega-3 (omega3) fatty acids derived from fish and fish oils reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease via mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis, thrombosis and inflammation. Despite these benefits, there has been concern that these fatty acids may increase lipid peroxidation. However, the in vivo data to date are inconclusive, due in part to limitations in the methodologies.

Effect of fish diets and weight loss on serum leptin concentration in overweight, treated-hypertensive subjects.

Background: Leptin, a circulating hormone secreted from adipocytes, is an index of adiposity and is reduced by caloric restriction and weight loss. A recent population study suggested that dietary-derived omega3 fatty acids lower leptin levels independent of body fat.

Objective: To examine whether dietary fish enhanced the effects of weight loss on serum leptin levels, in 69 overweight, treated hypertensive men and women.

Fish oil supplementation in pregnancy lowers F2-isoprostanes in neonates at high risk of atopy.

The anti-inflammatory properties of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have suggested a potential role of these nutrients in dietary modification for prevention of allergic disease in early life. As oxidative stress is known to modify antigen presenting cell (APC) signalling and resulting immune responses, we examined the effects of maternal n-3 PUFA supplementation in pregnancy on markers of oxidative stress and APC function in neonates at high risk of allergy. Eighty-three pregnant atopic women were randomised to receive 4 g daily of either fish oil (n = 40) or olive oil (n = 43) capsules in a controlled trial from 20 weeks gestation until delivery.

The antioxidant tempol prevents and partially reverses dexamethasone-induced hypertension in the rat.

Background: Many forms of hypertension are associated with increased oxidative stress. This study investigated the effects of Tempol, a superoxide scavenger, on prevention and reversal of hypertension induced by the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) in the rat.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 10 in each group) were treated with saline or Dex (10 microg/kg/day subcutaneously) for 13 days.

Oxidative stress in human hypertension: association with antihypertensive treatment, gender, nutrition, and lifestyle.

There is growing evidence that oxidative stress contributes to the pathogenesis of hypertension. Our aim was to measure markers of oxidative stress in hypertensive subjects, and assess the potential confounding influences of antihypertensive therapy, other cardiovascular risk factors, gender, lifestyle, and nutrition. Markers of oxidative stress, including plasma and 24 h urinary F2-isoprostanes, were measured in 70 untreated (men = 43, women = 27) and 85 treated (men = 43, women = 42) hypertensive subjects and 40 normotensive controls (men = 20, women = 20).

Fish oil supplementation in pregnancy modifies neonatal allergen-specific immune responses and clinical outcomes in infants at high risk of atopy: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: There is growing interest in the potential role of anti-inflammatory n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) in the prevention of allergic disease.

Objective: We sought to determine whether maternal dietary supplementation with n-3 PUFAs during pregnancy could modify immune responses in infants.

Methods: In a randomized, controlled trial 98 atopic, pregnant women received fish oil (3.

Effect of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in treated-hypertensive type 2 diabetic subjects.

n-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease via a number of possible mechanisms. Despite this, there has been concern that these fatty acids may increase lipid peroxidation. The data in vivo are inconclusive, due in part to limitations in the methodologies.